DebugMode Wax

About the Download.com Installer

The Download.com Installer securely delivers software from Download.com's servers to your computer. During this process, the Download.com Installer may offer other free applications provided by our partners. All offers are optional: You are not required to install any additional applications to receive the software you selected.
Learn more

Editors' Review

Wax is a video special effects and editing tool. While not as complicated as some of the larger video-editing and special effects suites on the market, Wax is intended to be general purpose, easy to work with, and powerful enough to satisfy most users' requirements for video creation and manipulation. Wax installs cleanly and easily.

The Wax interface presents a list of files and effects in the top left, a feed of the video in the top right, a timeline and track display in the bottom right, and some controls in the bottom left. It takes only a few minutes to get used to working with Wax. A nice feature is that 2D and 3D special effects can be added quickly, and the effects package can be treated as a standalone app feeding a more complicated video-editing package. (Wax can actually act as a plug-in to packages like Premiere and Vegas.)

Wax works really well for a free application. The effects are clever and well done, and there's graphics acceleration available if you have a higher-end video card to create the special effects in near real-time. The file management features are good, and there's support for standard file formats. All in all, Wax is a very nice video-editing and special effects package for those who don't need the power of the expensive commercial editing packages.

read more +

Publisher's Description

Wax is a high performance and flexible video composition and special effects software. The idea for Wax is to be very general purpose and flexible in video composition and effects, so that you can compose your dream video sequence with ease every time. Wax can create 2D & 3D special effects and can work in two modes - as a standalone application and as a "plug-in" to video editors/NLEs.

<Mostly> very easy to use. Lots of installed Sfx and loads more to download! And they can all be inter-mixed,with loads of customizable parameters,including Chromakey/Greenscreen,to create some dazzling visual effects. Just a very small,(but powerful!) program,that opens virtually instantaneously!

Cons

Mostly only any good for AVI files. It's not what you would call a Video Editor...more of a Special effects creator/editor.

Summary

Pretty easy to learn how to use,with a stack of Special Effects and Transitions. I can't understand ANY of the negative reviews posted. I've used this prog. for some years now,on both Windows XP and Vista. Lo and behold,it also works on W7...perfectly. Never once did it install any malicious software,annoying ads or anything else. Neither did it cause ANY problems with my operating systems. Download directly from the Debugmode.com website! Enjoy.

After a while my videos wouldn't play, instead they resembled still images! I've searched the net for answers-hell someone even asked the same question in the official FAQ section! No replies. Ignorance is unprofessional!

Summary

If you only need it once then, by all means, get it. However, if you require something long term (or even something for a week) I'd suggest looking elsewhere!

I've never had issues with using wax for doing special FX. If you're trying to use it as a heavy duty video editor for a lot of HD footage, I could see it running into issues as it isn't meant to be a video editor, it is meant to be special FX add-on/ plug-in for other video editing packages.

Simple After FX like applicationRotomate maskingParticle system3D character generator Many Direct X filters and transitionsWorks as a plug-in for editors like Windows Movie Maker, Premiere, Vegas and Lightworks

Cons

Clunky especially if working with HD video.Rotomate splines don't scale well when zoomed.Is very finicky about using Direct X FX.

Summary

Wax is a time line/ layer base compositing package similar, in a very basic way, to Adobe's After FX. It offers RotoMate which allow it to do fairly sophisticated compositing FX, an image base particle system, the ability to load 3d objects and do basic 3d transformations. Wax can even use many direct X filters and transitions giving it video editing potential, but it is designed to work as a plug-in for Video editors like Windows Movie Maker, Premiere, Vegas and even Lightworks. Anyone who is reviewing this as a Video editor is not doing this program justice.

Very powerful standalone aftereffects utilityPowerful Chromakey (green screening) featurePowerful RotoMate featureUnlimited multitrack for as many layers as you need

Cons

Preview pane not very smooth playback. Great for frame-by-frame, but realtime playback is slow & choppy.Preview has a big problem with playing back audio.Limited video formats that it can handle.Unable to composit the audio layer of "captured" clips from BandiCam or Fraps because they tend to have a "non-zero start time". My method of correcting this is to run the clip through VirtualDub first, find out what the offset is (from the error that pops up when you load it), negate it with the Audio skew correction, set it to Direct Stream Copy, and then save it again.

Summary

Even with the few challenges I've discovered & listed in the Cons section, my experience is that this is still the best free utility in this category.

Actually there is one better free video editor. Recommend trying VSDC Free Video Editor. Has most if not all the capability of Wax. And being a relatively new release (unlike Wax), can work/edit/save in most HD formats.

-Sometimes will not render with sound-Edit errors can be confusing to read

Summary

It's a free program. You can't complain about a free program. This program is the program I learned how to do all my video editing on. While not the smartest of all ideas, I was set up within a year of work to dive into Lightworks with no problem. You get chromakey (number 1 I used) and rotoscoping in a free program. Not quite apple quality but a whole lot cheaper. You have to be in AVI format though, but since I upload on the internet AVI is my go - to format anyways. Doesn't take a whole bunch of ram either, in fact I still use this program with Lightworks. I do have a problem with it not rendering with sound, but that can be fixed with another editor. The render or edit errors are near impossible to read as well. So you just gotta guess half the time. Overall good.

E-mail This Review

Thank You, !

Report Offensive Content

If you believe this comment is offensive or violates the CNET's Site Terms of Use, you can report it below (this will not automatically remove the comment). Once reported, our staff will be notified and the comment will be reviewed.